updated 09:50 am EDT, Mon April 19, 2010

Garmin nuvi 3700 is pocketable, gesture aware

Garmin launched one of the largest nuvi updates in recent memory on Monday in the radically redesigned nuvi 3700 series. The design is much thinner than usual GPS units at 0.35 inches deep and may be the only one to use a capacitive multi-touch screen. Navigators can double-tap or pinch to zoom as well as make two-finger gestures to switch between 2D and 3D or rotate the map.

The entire line uses a 4.3-inch widescreen display with lane assist, ecoRoute calculations, remembered frequent destinations and the option of customized photos both for the wallpaper and points of interest along the way. The 3750T acts as the base, while the 3760T adds Bluetooth and free live traffic updates. Picking the range-topping 3790T adds full 3D terrain support and full voice activation that includes a wake-up phrase to start GPS without having to leave the GPS turned off in normal conditions.

Garmin hasn't provided ship dates and pricing for the nuvis.

The device is part of an ongoing, concerted reaction to the sudden rise of GPS navigation through competing smartphone apps, especially those on the iPhone and Google's free Maps Navigation. While they have limitations, the cost savings over a dedicated GPS unit and the constant Internet connection have led to a falling out of favor with dedicated GPS firms like Garmin. The company has already hedged its bet by producing nuvi-equipped smartphones.

Wow...

...when will these companies give up? Garmin's time is better spent developing a Tom-Tom like bracket with integrated GPS chip, along with great software. Nobody is going to give up their iPhone. Nobody.

who needs a dedicated GPS unit for their car

I guess there are those who would need it for when they are not in 3G range but my iPhone's Google Maps does all I need as far as basic directions and routing, and it's often more accurate in comparison to those using dedicated GPS units.

advantage of dedicated gps, but...

Before geting to my problem with the new Garmin 3760t I bought and returned, I have a Droid, and it's very nice for many things, in fact very nice, but its reliability as a GPS is not at all good (it also is a lousy phone, but that's another topic).
I've spent hours with that Droid searching for GPS signals while on the road in the middle of nowhere, and go out of the Verizon network? That, folks, is possible--and a real drag.

The Garmin doesn't have that problem--I've never found it out of a signal. But--is it perfect? Using the older Nuvi is, well, irritating, and it has limited options.

The new 3700 series is another thing entirely than the old. You can use it with a cellphone with Bluetooth to call places up on the road. It's not as comprehensive as Droid, maybe, and you can't surf the Web or take pictures, or play games etc etc, But, has a better, bigger screen than the smartphones, which matters to me while driving down on the road.

Only problem I have with the one I got, and returned to the store, is that it isn't a 3760t, but a 3760. That means, you can't activate the Voice Command, even though it is in the manual as well as the onboard Help feature.

forgot one other thing on Garmin 3760t problem par

So, after not being able to activate the voice command on the 3760t, which showed on its information screen as a 3760 without the t even though it came in a 3760t box, I couldn't find anything on the Garmin site about any upgrade download to turn it into the real thing. The folks at the store said take it home and try look some more.

I mean, I say again: try and find anything using various search terms with Google, who by the way, will run all your email through their algorithms to find out if you like a certain brand of hairspray, and know where you are also all the time...and through the cell phone company, know so much about you that it boggles the imagination.

I don't think about that one with a dedicated GPS, and I don't fork out the 30 bucks a month either for a the data package, which will pay for a real 3760t in short order.

So happens they also sell tents, boats, hiking shoes, etc, at the store. Would they come up with that suggestion if the tent didn't come with a bug screen?

Now this: who besides me (and the person who buys the one I returned) has this happened to? Isolated case? The other one they had in stock had the same situation going.